Friday, February 12, 2010

Popstar John Mayer has come under criticism for his offensive racial and sexual remarks in an upcoming Playboy article interview. He has since apologized for his use of the N word but has not done so for saying "fags".

In the interview Mayer is asked if he has ever kissed a man:

“The only man I’ve kissed is Perez Hilton. It was New Year’s Eve and I decided to go out and destroy myself. I was dating Jessica [Simpson] at the time, and I remember seeing Perez Hilton flitting about this club and acting as though he had just invented homosexuality. All of a sudden I thought, I can outgay this guy right now. I grabbed him and gave him the dirtiest, tongue-iest kiss I have ever put on anybody—almost as if I hated fags. I don’t think my mouth was even touching when I was tongue kissing him, that’s how disgusting this kiss was. I’m a little ashamed. I think it lasted about half a minute. I really think it went on too long” (GLAAD).

Meh, I'm more angry that he made me picture Perez Hilton kissing *anyone*. From what I've gathered, Mr. Mayer is supports gay rights, so I could really care less if he says "fag" from time to time. I do.

What do you expect from the clown who wrote Daughters, with the most atrocious lyrics ever - when the relationship gets tough, 'maybe it's got nothing to do with me.' Convenient. The guy is clueless, so why would he have any sensitivity toward the minority groups he disses?

Only Blacks can use the "N" word, only Gays can use the "F" word, only Preachers can use the "G" word, only Lawyers can use the "L" word...these onlys go on forever. Here I choose to use the "S" and "A" words - as in Stupid Assholes! With all the freedoms being lost in this country, why try to remove freedom of speech? Every word when used by someone/somewhere is offensive to someone. Get over it, please. If you DON'T tell anyone they can't speak their mind; that is unless you are willing to only say what others say YOU can. Please take this to heart. Taking anothers freedom away is the first step towards losing your own.

"straight people shouldn't throw out that word like that" why the hell not? It's just a damn word. I'm gay. I say fag more than anyone I know. It's bull to put out a campagin like this against someone for saying one word that really isn't all that offensive. What is Elton John said it or someone like that? Would it be offensive? Cause technically it should be based off of how butt hurt everyone gets. But it wouldn't. Which is retarded. Or is that the "R" word since all us gays are apparently so butt hurt about everything now? Sorry gotta say all this stuff about being offended when a straight person says fag is utter crap. I could understand if he directly said something like "f*ck fags" or something. But he didn't. Get over it. Seriously. You wonder why people hate us? This is a damn good reason to hate someone.

This is definitely borderlined at best; the problem is the way he is using this word.

I have heard straight people use the word in a way that felt less offensive to me, e.g. "I wish I was born a fag." There is an obvious comfort with queerness and even an admiration for gayness in this case. John Mayer is not a raving homophobe, but at the same time, his tone in this excerpt is not particularly friendly; he is treating gayness as a "lifestyle choice," something that people "do," as in, "I can outgay this guy right now." Not cool to start with, and then his offhand use of the slur as though it's nothing. I don't hate John Mayer, I don't think he meant anything bad by his remarks, but I do agree with the objection.